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It seems like every year following the representative round we have the same discussion: international football is so exciting, of such a high quality and the players play with so much passion, we should have more of it.
The conversation invariably turns to State of Origin, the supposed centrepiece or Australian rugby league. Typically the conversation turns to how to ensure State of Origin remains the pinnacle of rugby league.
This is dumb. Really, really dumb.
While State of Origin is the centrepiece of rugby league, it shouldn’t be, and we should be doing everything we can to ensure that within the next five to ten years it isn’t the biggest game in the sport.
Rugby league is an international sport, it is time we treated it that way and it’s time those at League Central stop looking at the game with an insular mindset.
People will still watch and turn up to Origin in the future in their droves. It will, and should, always remain a hugely marketable event, one of the biggest events on the rugby league calendar, and if it doesn’t League Central has failed. But it shouldn’t remain the biggest event on the rugby league calendar.
Origin is New South Wales versus Queensland. That is it, just two states competing against each other, devoid of any other rugby league players from around the world. While State of Origin used to pit the 34 best players in the NRL against each other, that can no longer be said. And that is a good thing.
Whenever I hear television personalities claim that Pacific Islanders, New Zealanders or Englishmen should be allowed to play in State of Origin I shudder. It’s like America drafting Swedes playing in the NHL to help them defeat Canada at the Olympics.
As Paul Kent quite rightly pointed out last week, as soon as we tinker with the formula that made Origin great, the best of Queensland against the best of New South Wales, the magic is lost and we will be left with a glorified All Star game. That will not be popular and the game will lose the intensity that has made it so big.
One of the arguments for allowing Pacific Islanders to play Origin is that these players deserve to be able to play in the biggest game rugby league has to offer. That is exactly why we shouldn’t let Pacific Islanders play. By letting all-comers play, if it retains the magic that it currently holds – and that’s a big if – we are ensuring the NRL always rates Origin above international football.
But if the NRL wants the sport of rugby league to grow nationally and internationally, and by extension the quality of rugby league played to increase, they need international rugby league to be the pinnacle of the sport. And for that to happen Pacific Islanders must be playing for their country, not some state they moved to at the age of 15, 20 or even 24, as Eto Nabuli was when he moved to Sydney.
On top of those who claim that Pacific Islanders should be eligible for State of Origin selection, there are those that claim that Australian players from outside of New South Wales and Queensland should be eligible for Origin. Again, we can’t let this happen if we want to ensure national growth.
It’s important to make the distinction here between allowing Australians with Pacific Islander heritage and those born in the Pacific Islands to play Origin. Anthony Milford was born in Australia and I agree 100 per cent that he should be eligible to represent Samoa if he is not selected for Australia as this can only help those nations grow.
However, if Milford was born in Samoa he should not be eligible for State of Origin. And yes, this is different because the smaller nations need help to grow, State of Origin doesn’t need any more help.
Rugby league is not a national sport in Australia; it is an east coast sport. The NRL will eventually have a professional team located in Perth, hopefully sooner rather than later. People claim that when this time comes, Perth juniors will need something to aspire to, higher representative honours. They already have this, a green and gold jumper, what should be the pinnacle of Australian rugby league.
We may eventually get to the point where we can play Western Australia versus Victoria in conjunction with NSW versus Queensland, and I hope we do, but we never will if all Victorians or Western Australians are representing NSW or Queensland.
Because the NRL seems to think about money before anything else, it is important to highlight the financial benefits of State of Origin diminishing in value.
Dave Smith and Todd Greenberg have repeatedly told us in the past couple of months that international matches are not included in the current broadcast deal; they are just aired by Channel Nine and Fox Sports. It seems absolutely absurd and is quite hard to believe, but if it is true it highlights how little the NRL cares about international rugby league.
Additionally, if it is true it shows that the increased importance of international rugby league can be used to bump up the value of the coming broadcast deals as international matches are actually incorporated into the rights agreements.
New South Welshmen and Queenslanders are constantly searching for ways to ensure an interstate match remains the pinnacle of the sport of rugby league. This is all too typical of the insular attitude of most involved in rugby league. The sport is never going to grow if this continues and if the sport is to grow, we need to do everything we can to ensure that international matches surpass State of Origin.
We have seen the winds change in direction ever so slightly in recent years, let’s not jeopardise all that good work with yet another shortsighted, narrow-minded decision.
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